Three top officials in the State Department resigned Wednesday in the wake of a scathing report which slammed "systemic failures" and "management deficiencies" in the attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, which resulted in the murder of four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.

Assistant Secretary Eric Boswell, head of the bureau of diplomatic security, and Charlene Lamb, deputy assistant secretary for international programs, have stepped down, CNN and CBS television said, citing unnamed department officials.

Lamb, who was Boswells deputy in charge of international programs, denied requests from the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli for an extension of temporary security forces that were withdrawn in the months before the Benghazi attack.

The third person expected to resign has not yet been identified.

The resignations came just hours after an independent panel issued a long-awaited inquiry into the terrorist attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, which has been blamed on Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorists.

"Systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies at senior levels within two bureaus of the State Department resulted in a Special Mission security posture that was inadequate for Benghazi and grossly inadequate to deal with the attack that took place," the report said.

The report did not find reason for disciplinary action against any officials but singled out the bureaus of Diplomatic Security and Near Eastern Affairs for criticism, saying its leaders demonstrated a lack of proactive leadership and management ability in their responses to security concerns.

it's time we start treating those in DC like we would if we were trying to train an animal, first one has to get their attention. Once that is achieved then immediately inflict punishment when they do something wrong and reward them ONLY when they do something right. And again just like training an animal, if they aren't able to be trained then get rid of them.

Of course, and why were we so willfully naive to think that anybody but fall guys would ever take the blame, and “make it all right”, thereby negating the need for any of the Big Fish to testify? These three just join the ever-increasing population of those sacrificed for Obama, Hillary, et. al.

“GAH! America needs to get really angry. How can we make them see the really ugly leadership of this country?

Help me.”

I can’t. America let him stay in power, knowing that something was rotten in Benghazi, that he had weighed the economy down with stones, that he might not even be eligible, that he might be a dangerous sociopath. They didn’t care. They won’t get angry. Something is broken in America. I don’t know how to fix it. Maybe you do. If you don’t, then get out. It will get worse.

Government speak: “stepped down.” Did they really resign, or were they moved into other positions or retired? We've had instances of language like this not having the common meaning. Some of the F & F ATF reports of officials being “fired” only meant they were reassigned to other duties, as an example.

NO - Lamb was not the whistleblower. You’re confusing whistleblower with CYA!!!

“”Another official, Eric Nordstrom, who was responsible for protecting US diplomats in Libya, said that he too sought additional resources. But he said he was told over the phone by a senior state department official responsible for handling the request, Charlene Lamb, not to make any more because “there would be too much political cost”.

After that Republican members of Congress honed in on Lamb, who was also a witness, accusing her of failing to recognise the seriousness of the threat.
Lamb responded that the requests were for more personnel in Tripoli and it would have made no difference to how many security men would have been protecting the Benghazi consulate where protection was in any case mostly in the hands of a pro-government militia.

“We had the correct number of assets in Benghazi on the night of 9/11,” Lamb testified.””

Charlene Lamb from her testimony before the House Oversight Committee, October 10, 2012.

"When the attack began, a Diplomatic Security agent working in the Tactical Operations Center immediately activated the Imminent Danger Notification System and made an emergency announcement over the PA. Based on our security protocols, he also alerted the annex U.S. quick reaction security team stationed nearby, the Libyan 17th February Brigade, Embassy Tripoli, and the Diplomatic Security Command Center in Washington. From that point on, I could follow what was happening in almost real-time.

So sad, we lost a Syrian-Australian not long ago in the same conflict, poor fellow, he was there to help the poor refugees and died in some unexpected cross-fire incident. Wept I did. Only one, so far.

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